Spilled Bleach :(

I went and bought some bleach today for my white towels, and like an idiot, I put the bottle in my trunk. Of course, on the way home it rolled around. When I opened my trunk to get it, it looked like the cap was leaking, just a little. Didn't think much of it. But NOW, it stinks SO stongly of bleach fumes. I've had my windows and trunk open for the last 5 hours and still smell it. Has this happened to anyone before? Any advice?

Yes, I realize the fumes are unhealthy for me and the baby. What I need is a timeline of when the fumes will evaporate/or if there's a way to speed up the process. Thanks!

Comments (6)

Hmmmm...maybe baking soda will help and keep the windows down, maybe run a table top fan with an extension cord into the driveway or garage to air out the trunk? I know that baking soda is known to destroy many different odors. I drove with a gallon of milk on the floorboard a while back, it tipped over and split the seal and it was awful! Used baking soda and it took some time, but the smell went away after several days. Good luck!

I would take it into a car detail place - not a car wash but a place where you actually leave it with them and they detail it both inside and out and shampoo the inside. I take my car in for a full cleaning at the end of every winter, to get the salt off the carpets, spilled drinks from my ds, and just to deal with any issues from water from boots being in there even though I do have mats. I also have them do the outside as well to get any grime, salt, etc. off, but I live in Ontario, Canada and our winters are havoc on your car. Regardless, they can shampoo it right out for you and will know what to use as I am sure they've probably dealt with somthing similar and it will smell wonderful when they are done. I agree with pp, that I would't being putting any chemicals in there as bleach contains chlorine and when mixed with other chemicals can be really unsafe and as such make your problem worse.

I've done that. I was pulling into a gate and the security guard said something was leaking from my car. I noticed a smell, but when I opened the trunk, there it was, all over the place. Turned the floor carpet white. The smell went away after a week. When the car got really hot, you can still smell it, but very little. I ended up selling it. I check the top now every time, double and triple check.

Did you pour some water on it to try and dilute it? The carpet in the trunk is trashed now but it might help a little. I wouldnt do the Baking Soda thing that is a bad idea. Do this first. check the area to see if it's dry. if not. take some raggy towles and soak up as much as you can. Then pour water on it. you may not get it all out but you wont have to worry about starting a chemial reaction in your truncj

Just an fyi to RachelMarie83...baking soda is perfectly fine to use with bleach b/c baking soda is a base and bleach is an acid. Mixed together it makes a soft scrub compound. What u can't mix is ammonia and bleach. Hubby is a HazMat Specialist. We are on here to help people and offer suggestions. Not nice to critique what others say, especially if you don't know factual info on something as specific as chemical mixing.